Chapter 17

The inside of the cabin was several times bigger than its outward appearance would suggest, but it was a mess. Dirty dishes and clothes littered the floor, while complicated blueprints Keith couldn’t make sense of covered the walls.

As Zeidrick cleared off a table by pushing everything onto the floor, Keith heard his Aunt mutter profanities. Pulling out some chairs, Zeidrick motioned his guests to sit before taking a seat himself. Keith looked down at his chair, finding some underwear lying on top. Holding back his disgust before the revered craftsman, Keith used his foot to push the undergarments off before sitting down.

Putting on the most charming smile Keith could, he complimented, “You look really young for your age. Do you have any secrets you can share?”

“Huh?” Zeidrick looked completely baffled before realizing Keith misunderstood something. “Serilla didn’t tell you? I, the number one craftsman under heaven, inherited my father’s name. I took over his work when he died some years ago, so I’m still under 30.”

“Wow, you must be a mega genius.” Keith was amazed that Zeidrick the second could match his father at such a young age even though the latter spent over a hundred years learning his craft.

“Haha, you flatter me,” Zeidrick roared with laughter as he rubbed the back of his head, ripping off a few strands of what little hair he had left in the process.

“He’s not as great as you think,” Serilla commented with her arms crossed.

When Keith started feeling uncomfortable because of his rude Aunt, he saw Zeidrick secretly give Serilla a pleading look. Wondering what was going on, Keith glanced at his Aunt, who said, “I’m not saying Zeidrick isn’t talented, but his unique skills come from a special item called an Inheritance Book. It was the same with his father.”

“I’ve never heard of such an item,” Keith mused aloud. “Where’d it come from?”

Serilla looked at her nephew with a cold expression. “Yara.”

“Hey,” Zeidrick pouted. “While that item gave me a complete set of skills for crafting items, I had to put in a lot of work to raise my levels.”

Serilla snorted as Zeidrick leaned in and spoke in a soft voice. “Do you guys wanna know more about it?”

“Sure.” Keith was always interested in strange and fantastical items, so he copied Zeidrick and hunched over the table while Serilla closed her eyes, appearing disinterested.

Zeidrick looked around the cabin to make sure they were alone before whispering, “Don’t repeat what I’m about to tell you. That Inheritance Book of Yara’s? What grade do you think it is?”

“Well,” Keith speculated, “you're renowned as the best craftsman in the world, so the skills it gave you are definitely top-tier. I’d wager it’s mythic grade with a plus modifier.”

“Heh,” Zeidrick snickered as he watched Keith’s expression. “Of course you’d think that. Mythic is the highest grade in the world, right?”

“What are you saying?” Serilla opened her eyes and locked onto Zeidrick like an eagle watching its prey.

Zeidrick, in a rare show of confidence, stared back with a smirk. “Transcendent. That’s the grade of the item she used on my father and me.”

“Impossible.” Serilla sneered, not believing Zeidrick for a second. “No wonder why you don’t like taking your medicine. It makes you delusional.”

Zeidrick shrugged, disinclined to argue over the truth. Meanwhile, Keith’s eyes sparkled. “I believe you, Zeidrick.”

“Haha! Good kid!” Zeidrick clapped his hands in joy before suddenly growing serious. “So, what weapon do you want? Are you a brawler like your mom? Or maybe you’ll take after your old man and use a greatsword?”

“Well,” Keith scratched his cheek uncertainly, “people say you can make all sorts of weapons. Is it possible to make mind-controlled orbs that can cast skills?”

“Hmm.” Zeidrick quickly pulled out a fresh blueprint and began drawing. “I see what you’re going for. One thousand orbs infused with flight magic and linked to your mind wreaking havoc as they fly around the battlefield. Haha, it’s all growing clear. Yes! Wonderful!”

“No, it won’t work!” Zeidrick suddenly stood to his feet with crazed eyes. “There’s no way you can sustain the mana cost of five thousand orbs shooting skills left and right. It’s impossible to even with the best mana reduction gear.”

As Zeidrick began pacing around the cabin and rummaging through old blueprints, Keith sighed helplessly, already knowing that mana was the number one issue preventing his ideal weapon from coming to fruition. Just as he was about to explain his second choice, Zeidrick screamed. “I’ve got it!”

Walking back to the table, Zeidrick sat down with a reluctant expression. “Damn, do I, the supreme creator, have to ask that old fossil for help?”

Serilla narrowed her eyes and asked. “Are you talking about William Frisk?”

“Who else? That bastard just won’t stop coming up with insane inventions. Just recently, he was able to modify a pocket dimension of all things.” Zeidrick spat unhappily and looked to Keith. “You’re in luck. Using Frisk’s new technology, we can fill a pocket dimension with mana reactors and then pull mana from them to fuel your orbs. Usually, that wouldn’t be possible since a pocket dimension severs any connection going in or out. But thanks to Frisk, that isn’t a problem anymore.”

“Are you crazy?” Serilla slapped the table and reprimanded. “You want an 18-year-old kid to use one of the military's greatest assets for personal use? Besides, what do you mean by filling a pocket dimension with them? Only ten exist, with the creation of each one costing uncountable resources! Foolish! Wasteful!”

Zeidrick shrunk into his chair after Serilla’s outburst while Keith wisely kept quiet. Although Keith had never heard of a mana reactor before, he could guess its function just from its name. How awesome would it be to carry one around inside a pocket dimension?

At that moment, Zeidrick’s magic tablet lit up. He habitually opened it to see the notification, only to burst into laughter.

“What?” Serilla snapped, utterly annoyed with Zeidrick’s manic behavior.

“Take a look for yourself,” Zeidrick said with a smug grin as he pushed his magic tablet over.

Serilla casually looked at the screen, only to freeze. “Is she crazy?”

“What is it?” Keith asked curiously, wondering what was on the tablet.

Serilla looked at her nephew in disbelief. “It’s a message from Yara. She’s gifting you a mana reactor.”

“Wow, is she psychic? Wait, never mind.” Keith recalled the conversation with his mom and Aunt a few days ago. Surely Yara wasn’t all-knowing, right?

Keith followed with a question. “How expensive is a mana reactor anyway?

“Um,” Zeidrick guessed uncertainly, “probably a billion gold? Maybe a trillion?”

“Oh.” Keith stared at the table in a daze.

“I can’t wait to start. I’ll try to get a prototype to you by the end of the week.” Zeidrick began drawing various designs as he said, “Make sure you can handle the load on your mind. Do you have the requisite skills?”

“Not yet.” Keith pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to his Aunt. “Do you think this is okay?”

Serilla glanced over it before nodding. “No problem.”

Keith relaxed as Serilla stood and made for the door. “Let’s get out of this dump and get you the skills. After that, I’ll take you home.”

“It was nice meeting you, Zeidrick!” Keith waved goodbye, but Zeidrick was too focused on his work to respond.

Leaving the cabin, the two made their way to the teleportation array down the trail. Serilla stayed silent as she thought about Yara’s involvement in this previously minor matter. Why did she gift one of humanity’s greatest weapons to Keith, a budding adult with little to no combat experience? What did she see in his future?